Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Coir

Coir, extracted from the husk of the
coconut, is the fibrous material found between the internal coconut
shell and the outer layer. The extracting and processing of coir is
performed in accordance with a series of activities, resulting in coir
that is used for the manufacturing of various environmentally friendly
products; these are then used to help prevent soil erosion and in many
horticultural procedures. The complete process that CoirGreen™ follows
in creating coir is entirely environmentally friendly and has no
negative impact on nature.

Fully mature green coconuts are either
plucked from the tree after twelve months or picked once ripened and
fallen from the tree to extract coir while unripe coconuts are spread on
the ground to be dried.
There are two types of coir:

Brown fibre

White fibre

Brown
fibre, which CoirGreen™ mainly uses, is obtained from mature coconuts
that are ready to be processed into copra and desiccated coconuts. The
outer fibrous layer of the coconut is manually separated from the hard
shell using a steel-tipped spike or a machine.

Converting the fibre into coir

The
extracted husks are then placed along river-banks, concrete tanks or
suspended by nets and soaked in a slow-moving body of water so that the
fibres swell and soften. Earlier, this action was carried out for 6 to
10 months; however, recently introduced mechanical techniques allow this
process to be completed within 7 to 10 days.

The fibre pulp
is then beaten with wooden mallets in order to separate the coir fibres
from the pith and outer skin of the coconut. Traditionally, this
process was carried out manually, but in recent years, motorized
machines are used to increase efficiency. The resultant fibres are
washed and subsequently spread loose on the ground to dry.

Next,
the fibres are combined with mechanical or manual carding tools and
then spun to form fine yarn, which is later twisted to make long and
strong coir strings. Finally, these coir strings are wound into bundles.
This is carried out using hand spinning tools or automated spinning
machines.
Fibres that will not be immediately processed are collected and tied into loose bundles for storage and shipment.

Environmentally friendly coir making process
CoirGreen™
‘s ultimate goal is to be an ambassador for the environment by
promoting the use of environmentally sustainable products. We spend an
enormous amount of energy in making sure that our coir products do not
harm the environment in anyway.

In the manufacturing of coir
products, we make certain that all activities are carried out with
minimal impact towards the environment. Such measures ensure that
CoirGreen™ is conscious about its products and operations and reaffirm
that the environment is indeed the lifeblood of the company. CoirGreen™ - Environmentally Friendly!

Visit us on www.coirgreen.com or follow us on facebook www.facebook.com/CoirProducts